Hands are Meant to Hold
by xScenex
Summary: AU. Hermione is trapped twenty years into the past. While working in Hogsmeade, she meets James Potter and sparks begin to fly. What happens when one night, things go too far between the two of them? How will the future be effected? HGJPLE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

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A/N: Blah. These plot bunnies are going to kill me one day. Well, I was sitting here, wondering about all those James/Hermione fics out there, when suddenly, a little bunny jumped out of nowhere and clonked me on the head. Now the plot wont go away until I write it. I don't know what inspired me to write this, as I've never read a James/Hermione fic besides the one by Kiss This, and I've had no desire to write one until now. Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll finish this. I have half the plot already written down, so it's not going to be abandon right off if at all. It's kind of a project for me, really. I'm still working on SC, WatC, and IB, but this is just going up so I don't loose what I've written. Don't expect many updates for a while, as I'll only update when I have time from my other stories or if I get bored of the others. I already have three unfinished stories out there.. Eh heh. Don't kill me! I'll finish them all.

Also, this fic will be rated M for a reason. Please heed all warnings. Anywho, enough of my blabbering. Enjoy? - Min

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Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex

a.k.a. Min

Chapter 1

* * *

Hermione Granger, age eighteen, stepped out of her parents house for the last time. Little did she know that of course, as she had many intentions of coming back home to visit them. She had went home to spend time with her family for her birthday and took a short break from hunting horcrux's with Harry and Ron. You see - Hermione Jane Granger wasn't an ordinary girl. 

She was a witch - one of the brightest witches her age that attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain. In witch and wizard standards, she was an ordinary girl, nothing too special - unless you counted her knowledge.

Her best friends were Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, followed by Ginny Weasley - Ron's younger sister. Ron was the strategist of their group, as Harry was the courage, while Hermione was the brains. Naturally, the trio found trouble - or as dear Harry had said once, 'Trouble finds me'.

At the moment, they were on a hunt for the remaining items that contained pieces of a Dark Lord's soul. The Dark Lord went by the name of Voldemort, but his real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Trying to find the pieces of his soul was a dangerous journey as many Death Eaters followed them closely, and many times they had almost been murdered.

Every time though, they had gotten out alive - even if they were a bit worse for wear.

Hermione's break away from the hunt was fun, but short-lived and slightly full of tension as her parents didn't want to let their only child go back to hunting for dangerous artifacts. They didn't know the main details about the war, and Hermione tried to keep them at a minimum, knowing that they would forbid their daughter from doing anything as dangerous as she was. Not that she wanted to hunt for the horcrux's; but she wouldn't leave Harry and Ron to fend for themselves.

Before she could let her emotions override her duty, she jogged down the path away from her house. It was an old path, one not commonly used by the occupants of the neighborhood. No one really came about that area anymore, as most who lived in the duplex neighborhood consisted of an older genre. The ground was littered with leaves and sticks, tufts of grass growing through the concrete walk every so many feet. The concrete was broken, long cracks winding up through it in patterns that were undecipherable.

Hermione sighed, wiping her face off as she slowed down a bit to catch her breath and try to rid herself of bad feelings that threatened to override her senses. Looking around, she realized that she'd never actually been so far along the path before. She didn't know where it led. All around the walk were trees - an undeveloped wooded area of land. Thick brush, with the absence of the sounds of cars and people.

Naturally, the girl would turn around unless provoked, but she felt she needed some time to think. She continued walking along, kicking up loose pebbles. It was a warm day and the sun was shining through the canopy of leaves above her. The atmosphere was almost calming; with the soothing, nature scented air, the soft whoosh of wind against the bushes and other plants, and the gentle calls of birds above.

She hadn't been anywhere so peaceful since before the war began again.

The walkway had ended some time ago, having been grown over by grass and other plants. Figuring all she had to do is cast a simple 'point me' charm, Hermione walked off the path.

Minutes passed, and she lost all track of time. The girl was content in enjoying herself, and the only thoughts that flittered through her mind were of how Harry and Ron weren't there to enjoy the stroll the wooded area. The girl vaguely noted that the trees were getting taller and the shadows darker the further she walked, but thinking it to be only her imagination, she continued in calm silence.

All thoughts of peacefulness were interrupted though, when Hermione caught sight of something - a court-like area where the trees didn't grow and stone pillars thrust upwards towards the sky. Broken stones lay scattered about, and a small creek cut through the ground off to the left.

The court was huge - larger than two house lots put together. Curious of what the place was and wondering why no one had ever told her about it in all the years she'd lived in that surrounding area, Hermione walked forward to the center of the vast, stone covered ground. Interest flooded through her as she saw what lie in the center.

There, looking so surreal compared to the rest of the place, were five tall trees, all forming a circle. Not that that was so unusual - it was the state of the trees. While the surrounding wooded area was filled with bright, healthy green floral life, the five trees in front of the girl were dead. Not dead as in no leaves, but dead as in no leaves and completely stone grey.

Hermione stood there, taking in the queer scene. She could feel something emanating from the center of the them and took the time to examine it without touching anything.

In the center of the perfect circle were leaves just like the rest of the wood, but only they were dead too. Brown and grey looking, an odd sight as most leaves are only brown when they died.

The area was large enough for six people to stand comfortably inside it, around what appeared to be a charred wooden cross-shaped structure that looked like a couple of two-by-fours nailed together.

It looked innocent enough, so cautiously Hermione stepped forward. As she entered the circle, the air seemed to drop a few degrees and silence pressed down against her as if trying to smother her. The sound of crunching leaves beneath her feet was almost disorienting. Feeling suddenly uneasy, Hermione paused.

Should she continue to check the place out? Or should she just leave. The area seemed to be forbidden in Hermione's eyes, but something as secretive as that made her eyes shine with hope of knowledge no one else had.

She decided on the former though, and continued to walk through the leaves, ignoring how loud her breathing sounded against her ears.

Step, crunch, step, crunch.

Every footstep closer to the black cross, she could feel something pull at her. It were as if it wanted her to move closer, and oddly enough, she felt herself abide the feeling, even though alarms were going off in her mind. Things like that just weren't _normal_. But there had never been anything out of the ordinary around her neighborhood, unless you counted her.

Now the girl stood right in front of the small, hand made structure. Her heart beat heavily against her chest in anticipation and perspiration formed against her clammy skin. Reaching out with one hand, Hermione attempted to brush gathered dust off of the top of the cross.

When her hand made contact with the wood, she felt something shoot through her fingertips; a harsh, electronic bolt of raw energy. She cried out loudly and tried to pull her hand away from it, but found herself bound to it.

She felt panicked as the familiar feeling of dark magic began to emit from the wood in front of her. She bit her lip and once again attempted to wrench her hand away. It was no use.

The light around her seemed to become darker and darker, threatening to engulf her. And in a matter of minutes, it had.

Darkness surrounded the frightened girl. She desperately tried to look around, but didn't know what direction was which.

_Point to which thy time expires  
__Lives they fall before their time  
__Follow North unto thy sea  
__Where raging waters cascade upon thy land_

Freezing in shock, Hermione winced as the words boomed around her. If she had been thinking right, she would have thought the idea silly - only in muggle movies did someone ever fall into some kind of 'trap' where an unknown _thing _talked to them. Or, rather, some thing_s_. There were numerous voices chanting loudly around her. It seemed like some kind of dream.

There was a pause after the verse was said and a small light illuminated in front of Hermione and she looked down. The top of the cross was glowing white. Transfixed, she listened while her body settled in shock.

_Point to which thy time begins  
__Lives they come as others perish  
__Follow South unto thy land  
__Where greedy humanity thrives upon thy Earth_

The bottom half of the cross lit up like the top part had. It was almost blinding, but Hermione didn't shield her eyes.

_Point to which thy fate desires  
__Lives they follow along with destiny  
__Follow East unto thy Heavens  
__Where the pure reside in eternity_

On cue, the left side of the cross lit up and the chanting continued without pause this time, the beat becoming faster and much clearer than before.

_Point to which thy choices are made  
__Lives they choose their future ways  
__Follow West unto thy Hell  
__Where the tainted reside in eternity_

The last section lit up and a burst of hot energy burst forward, singing Hermione's exposed skin. She gasped loudly and tried to shield her face from it with her free hand while the chanting repeated.

_Point to which thy time expires  
__Lives they fall before their time  
__Follow North unto thy sea  
__Where raging waters cascade upon thy land_

_Point to which thy time begins  
__Lives they come as others perish  
__Follow South unto thy land  
__Where greedy humanity thrives upon thy Earth_

_Point to which thy fate desires  
__Lives they follow along with destiny  
__Follow East unto thy Heavens  
__Where the pure reside in eternity_

_Point to which thy choices are made  
__Lives they choose their future ways  
__Follow West unto thy Hell  
__Where the tainted reside in eternity_

The girl was then thrown back heavily from the illuminated wood. Sitting up and wincing from the obvious bump on the back of her head, Hermione looked up. With the light that now came from the cross, she was able to look around and realize that she was in a kind of chapel. A large altar stood feet away from her surrounded by hundreds of white candles. The walls were adorned with images of Gods and Goddesses. Gaping openly around her, Hermione stood up. As soon as she was upright, the candles around the altar lit up with a small whoosh. Chills ran down Hermione's spine and she shivered.

There was no one else around her, although the eerie chanting continued, repeating the same four verses over and over again. Her legs carried her towards the altar, where a large, dusty tome sat open on a page.

'_Turn back time twenty years, an impossible feat they said. Many believed Joseph to be insane, and in the end, he was executed for supposed witchcraft. Sarah Taylor, the pioneer's daughter, later discovered a journal that once belonged to him. Inside, it quoted, "It was amazing - nothing like I've ever seen before. They've always told us that magic didn't exist, and what supposedly was used by 'witches and wizards' was nothing more than blatant devil worship. But they were wrong! Oh, how wrong they were. Hundreds of the magic dwelling folk there are! Civilizations of them, living amongst the normal people. If only they could see this as well…"_

_Later investigations told of how Joseph had supposedly gone back in time with the help of some fellow friends, all whom have disappeared from history - how long Joseph went back in time, no one knows really. He never documented the exact dates. The only record that relates to time states the following: Come forth powers of direction and lead me to thy ancestor's time before my birth and guide me towards thy light. For twenty years we stay divided - let us undo that fate._

_What the passage means, none know. It is a mystery to the folk of the village.'_

Hermione blinked a few times. None of it made much sense. It was obvious that a muggle had written the passage in the old book by the way the spoke of magic. She read through the paragraphs twice more.

"But what does that mean? Is it some kind of prophecy?" She inquired out loud as she read the middle paragraph. "Come forth powers of direction and lead me to they ancestor's time before my birth and guide me towards they light. For twenty years we stay divided - let us undo that fate..? No, that's not a prophecy--"

She was cut off suddenly as the ground shook. She was knocked off her feet and the heavy book fell off of it's stand and onto the floor next to her, scattering dust.

Coughing, Hermione covered her mouth. She felt panicked and wondered if the building would collapse on her. She attempted to scramble to her feet, but instead, fell back onto the floor as a large tremor ricocheted through the chapel. As she fell, her head his the corner of the altar, and her world slowly became black.

* * *

_Chirp, chiiiirp, chirp._

"Ugh…?"

Groggily, the brown-haired girl opened her eyes. It took her a moment to see right, as her vision was blurry and unfocused.

When she was able to look around herself fully, the girl noticed that she was inside the chapel, still, but this time it was day light and through a broken stained-glass window from the right came the chirping of an unseen bird.

The chapel was old; that much was obvious. The ground was littered with dead leaves, pieces of shattered glass, and splintered wood from the pews on either side of the aisle. A few vines wound up the walls where they grew into the windows from outside.

Hermione felt the back of her head where it throbbed painfully from her previous falls. Wincing a bit, she rubbed the spot gingerly but was satisfied to know it hadn't bled.

She was about to get up but spotted the large dusty book that fell from the altar laying open next to her feet. She reached forward and picked it up, being careful as to not turn the page it was on. She allowed her eyes to rake down the page and she gasped loudly when she read the passage:

'_As much as they believed Joseph's words to be lies, we all know otherwise now. When Sarah stepped forward that day, telling us of the ritual they set for the task, there was no denying the fact he was right. Mayor Daniel didn't believe her, and sentenced her to be hung the two days following the festival. But he would soon find out that he was too late to allow the sentence to be carried out._

_They gathered, they did, those five wizards the next night, and cast the ritual upon her to send her away. It was a magnificent thing - something one would never believe possible. They stood side by side with Sarah in the middle of their circle, strapped to the wooden cross. One by one, they rose their "wands" and cast a light upon her, all the while chanting the same verse in Joseph's journal. Before my very eyes, I saw her disappear… That's when things started to change. Little things, one's no one really noticed. But I noticed - I knew the Friar never had three daughters. Spices began appearing from places I'd never heard of, all villagers claiming that they were well-known and used constantly. Day's passed, and some days, people would disappear - forgotten and unremembered. That is, by all except for me. _

_I acquired Joseph's journal not too long after Sarah left. Inside, it spoke of how there was no known way to get back - although he had left and come back himself. It claimed it was an accident; saying something about him being there would cause a disastrous overlap to the blanket of time. I do not understand. Sarah left and stayed - why couldn't he?_

_I have no idea how this time-travel works, but Joseph was right about it. But it is a dangerous thing. Sending Sarah back in time was a tricky thing to do - and alas, the world is changing. God save us all…'_

Hermione stared blankly at the paper, her heart skipping a beat. She'd been to that cross - she'd said the verse. She felt tears well up in her eyes for a moment before pulling out her wand and casting the tempus charm.

_9:56 a.m. October 20th, 1978._

The girl took in a deep breath and willed herself not to cry. She was truly back in time. It wasn't a joke - it was real. She was stuck, more than likely. The tome spoke of there being no known way home to her time, unless she were to cause an overlap in the 'blanket of time'.

She pulled her knee's up to her chest and shut her eyes tightly. "I'm dreaming," she whispered quietly, "I'm dreaming. I want to wake up… Hermione, wake up, it's just a dream…"

She didn't wake up. She sat there for a long time, unsure of how long exactly, but knowing it was a while as when she looked up again, the sun was at noon point.

She pulled herself to her feet with the help of one of the pews and brushed herself off lightly while taking in her surroundings once more. The door was slightly open and the lock was broken off.

All she could do was hope it was a joke and get out of there.

After stumbling uneasily over to the door and slipping out, she realized that a dense wooded area surrounded her - no surprise. She sighed a bit and took her wand out once more and said, "Point me, Road."

The wand spun around in her palm for a few seconds before facing northwest. Nodding in affirmation, Hermione began walking in said direction, hoping the road wasn't too far away. Luck was on her side, though, as she soon found herself tumbling onto the cobblestone road which seemed to lead into some village or another up further.

She blinked.

It looked like Hogsmeade. Actually… She spotted a sign hanging up on a tall pole on the left side of the road.

'Welcome to Hogsmeade;

Things were just getting odder and odder for her. And in truth, they would get more surreal as the day went on. She would have never guessed that morning, as she stepped out of bed, that she would be stuck back in time forever, living in Hogsmeade at the local bookstore where she worked for her lodging. She had had no idea what she got herself into that day when walking in the woods near her house, but now, she had to move on whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

_Ding, clatter, ding!_

Hermione looked up from behind the desk at the back of the store which was littered with numerous novels and biographies.

It had been two weeks since Hermione had fallen back in time. You'd think that a smart girl like her would have went straight to Dumbledore to get help on the matter, but that wasn't the case this time. He wouldn't have been able to help her get back home; it wouldn't work that way. The book Hermione had found on that altar that one day had told her that she was stuck permanently. As she hadn't been thrown out of that era yet, it was obvious.

So, Hermione being Hermione, decided to find the positive facts in the matter. She realized that she couldn't change things drastically, if at all, but she would try her best to make the world a little better. She had more time to find out what the Horcrux's where before Voldemort came into full power, or back into power in the future.

In the meantime, she had had to find a place to stay - and luckily, the Hogsmeade bookstore was looking to hire. The job included a medium pay as well as lodging in the upstairs room of the store, complete with a bathroom, one bedroom, and a closet. Not much, but it sufficed. Hermione applied for the job. The owner was ecstatic to finally find an employee and Hermione was allowed to move in that day without having to give any background information.

Two weeks later, there she was, sitting behind the desk reading 'The witch and I' when someone opened the door to the shop.

Hermione knew it was a Hogsmeade weekend. The owner of the store had given her a calendar, informing her of the days that Hogsmeade would be full of teenagers. She supposed it was to help her know when she had to work longer.

Without looking up, Hermione called out softly, but loud enough to be heard, "Hi, welcome to Janice's Books and More. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask."

Usually, the customers ignored her and didn't need her help unless purchasing something, but this time, she was surprised when the person approached her desk and asked in a soft, masculine voice, "Actually, I do need some help."

She looked up and gulped silently when she set eyes on the boy.

His light, russet colored hair shone brightly as the rays of light from the windows hit it, giving him a soft glow. His amber eyes shined with mirth and mischief. The boy was pretty tall, with a slight build in his upper body. A few scars ran along his jaw line and up his exposed arms.

Hermione recognized the boy. How could she forget him?

"A-And what would you like help with?" she managed to say calmly as she stared at her future Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

He smiled slightly and replied, "I'm looking for a book called '_Defense Spells of the Modern Age_'. Would you by chance have it?"

Hermione stood up slowly, trying to shake off the very odd feeling building up in her stomach. She wanted to vomit, cry, and scream all at once. She wanted to go home, and seeing someone from her own time - even if they were younger - made her homesick.

She looked at the boy for a moment, receiving an uneasy stare in return, but finally turned away. "Actually," she said, now thinking about the matter at hand, "I think we do have that book."

She walked off, Lupin trailing behind her slowly. Hermione walked to one of the shelves in the back of the store and ran her fingers along the dusty volumes until she came to the 'Defense' section. She read the titles on the first two shelves, then crouched down to reach the lower shelves.

"_Defense for your Garden_… _Dandilion's Magic _- why's that there? Ah… _Defense for Beginners_… Here we go! _Defense Spells of the Modern Age_," she pulled the book out from it's spot and ran a hand over it to get the dust off before looking up at the boy standing a few feet away. She held the book up so that the cover showed, and asked, "This is it?"

He took the book from her and examined it for a moment before giving her a grin, "Yeah, this is the book."

Nodding, Hermione stood up and walked back up to the desk as Lupin walked off to search more of the bookcases.

Breathing in deeply, Hermione rested her head in her hands. It was almost too much to bare. How could she continue with life if she was stuck there? She wanted her friends and family back. Even if the world was a bit more peaceful there then it was from where she was from, she wished to be home.

She counted to three a couple of times before sitting up strait and picking her book back up. She tried to focus on reading the novel but found her eyes drifting over to the boy who now stood looking through the section on charms. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably and she suddenly wished she didn't work there. She had thought that Harry's parents, Remus, Sirius, and Peter had graduated the year before. She must have calculated it all wrong.

Before she could think further into the whole scenario, the door opened again with a soft _ding!_ Hermione sighed heavily and greeted the newcomers like usual. She didn't get a response, but watched as three boys came into view and walked over towards where Lupin stood. She nearly fainted, seeing who they where.

James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew stood there, laughing and talking loudly mere yards away from Hermione.

Standing up quickly, Hermione stumbled out of the room through the door in the back behind her desk and climbed up the stairs as quickly as she could, oblivious to the stares she received from the boys. When she reached the landing, she rushed towards where the bathroom was and soon found herself heaving up her lunch.

It was too much to take in at once. They were dead - dead! Or, two of them were. But there they were, young and healthy, standing downstairs. At the thought, she felt her stomach heave once more and all remaining contents in her stomach left.

Feeling weak and tired, Hermione pushed herself away from the toilet and lent against the wall. She didn't want to go back downstairs. She didn't think she could handle confronting the boys.

But she had a job to do.

About ten minutes later, she gathered the courage up and after cleaning her mouth out and washing her face off, she headed back downstairs.

Remus was standing at the desk, James and Sirius at his side and Peter wandering around near the 'Jokes' section.

"Hey, it's not nice to make your customers wait," the younger Sirius scowled at her when she walked up to the desk.

Hermione refused to look at the boy, keeping her eyes downcast as she sat down in her seat, taking out a pad of receipt paper.

"Be nice, Sirius," Remus mumbled as he placed the books he'd selected down in front of Hermione, who promptly took them one by one and neatly wrote out the title's and author's of the book, then the price next to them.

"Well, it's rude! We shouldn't have to wait for her-"

"Ah, stuff it Padfoot," another voice spoke up. Hermione once again didn't look up but she knew it was Harry's dad speaking.

"Are you against me?" Sirius squawked loudly.

"No, but I bet this beautiful lady here had a reason to be absent," he remarked.

Hermione couldn't help it and looked up in time to see Harry's dad grin broadly at her and wink. She felt her cheeks flush and looked back down at the receipt and totaled the amount up.

"All four books together will be five sickle's and two knut's," she told Remus as she began bagging the books.

Said boy took out a collection of money from his pocket and counted out the exact change which Hermione took and placed in a small case next to the desk.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Yeah," James said after a moment. "How about you go out to lunch with me and my friends here?"

Hermione's stomach dropped to the floor. James Potter - Harry's dad - as hitting on her. HER. As in, Hermione Jane Granger, best friend of his future SON. She shook her head for more than one reason and said quietly, "I already had lunch. And I'm working, anyways."

"That doesn't matter," Sirius grinned. "Just put an 'out to lunch' sign on your door. No one will notice."

Hermione shook her head once more.

"Looks like a tough one," she vaguely heard Sirius mumble to the others. She fought down the urge to slap him and sat up straight in her seat.

"If you don't mind, I have some things I need to do."

"Oh, I reckon sorting books takes a lot of time, huh?" James asked mockingly.

The girl just glared at him. "If you're going to harass, leave."

"Harass? Harass! She's accusing you of harassing, Prongs!"

"Guys, lets just leave her alone," Remus spoke up, picking up the bag that contained his books. "She has work to do."

"But-"

"Please, listen to your friend," Hermione agreed. "I have work to do."

"You ruin all the fun, Moony," James and Sirius whined at the same time.

Rolling his eyes, the russet-haired boy began walking off. The others sullenly followed him, but Hermione caught James giving her another grin as he ruffled his hair up in the back, making it messier than ever. The girl noted absently that he looked quite good with his hair like that. After realizing her thoughts, she nearly slapped herself, ashamed of thinking such things.

Picking up her novel once more, Hermione had a feeling she hadn't seen the last of them.

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A/N: Okay, yeah. A bit boring, I know. I don't even know if it makes much sense. xD But oh well. If you want, tell me what you think, and if you find something wrong with this, please inform me and I'll fix it. Anywho, thanks for reading. - Min 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

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A/N: Huh, well, I didn't think this story would be that great, but quite a few people seem to like it. I suppose the only thing to do is continue it, yeah? Funny really, as this was just a plot-bunny persuaded by a friend come to life. And yes Kersies, I did get the title from one of my favorite All-American Rejects songs. Anyways: I've joined writing forces with a friend of mine in real life. Her penname here is Rubber Ducky Loser, and we've already started a story on her account. I uploaded the third chapter for her just earlier, so yeah. She writes the plot, rough drafts, and storyline, while I write the actual story and fix it up a bit. If you want to read it, go to her profile, or type in Preternatural for the story title and you should find it. Or, just go to my profile and I have the link in there at the end. Here's a summary for it:

_**Harry Potter is sent into a world where he, literally, takes the roll of Neville Longbottom. He has his parents, although they reside in St. Mungo's, lives with Sirius, and is supposedly a clutz. How will Harry cope with this change of events? AU**_

Anyways, yeah. Enough said at the moment. Happy Reading! - Min

**Thanks** animerocksjapanrocks, LoveForRupertGrint, CrymsonTear, Saz-646, Ivory Black aka Torri-Chiobi, Reanne1102, Me, WhiteTwitch, Rubber Ducky Loser, Kill-All-Flamers, LunaLovegoss, HarryGinny4RonHermione4TonksLupin4ever, Kersies, and Viktor Krum's lazyllama101 **for the wonderful reviews!**

* * *

Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex

a.k.a. Min

* * *

It had been two nights since the run in with the Marauders at the shop. Unsurprisingly, Hermione couldn't keep her mind off of them. She found herself slightly fascinated by them, knowing that she'd never get to meet the real Marauders if she were in her time still, but she also felt horrible about the whole factor. She wasn't supposed to be in that time era. She didn't belong there. Not to mention, she had met Harry's dad - even he hadn't know his dad. It wasn't fair in so many ways.

Hermione was putting away some books on a shelf, almost finished after closing the shop for the night. The day had been a long and tedious one, full of ignorant customers and foolish sells-men.

In her spare time that day, she searched through the old books in the back of the storage, dating almost a century old. She had been hoping to find out more information over her situation but hadn't found anything leading to the ritual spoken of in the old book she found in the forgotten church. She'd never heard of anything like it, and from all she'd learned in her youth, she had thought that time-travel was impossible except by the use of time-turners; and those objects only went back hours at a time.

But obviously, all she'd learned on the subject was wrong. Somehow, someone - or some people - had found a way through time without the usage of the hourglass objects. But her search had been in vain so far. Nothing she read had any information on the matter. She'd even gone as far as trying to look up the names of the people mentioned in the book - once again, it was futile.

She'd finally excepted the fact that she wouldn't be going home - but she still wouldn't give up trying to find a way.

A flash of light shown from the few windows around the shop and thunder boomed afterwards, rumbling quietly into the distance. The wind outside had been picking up slowly and the surrounding trees whipped about, scraping the roof and sides of the shop.

Sighing, Hermione pushed the last book onto the shelf between two large tomes before leaning back on her arms and breathing in deeply while trying not to sneeze at the same time. She wasn't feeling great, and the dust in the air wasn't helping the issue; and to add to the effect, the humidity in the air because of the weather made her groggy.

After a few moments, Hermione pushed herself off the floor and dusted her jeans off hastily just as someone opened the door. Hermione inwardly groaned as the bell jingled. She had hoped that she was done for the night and had also hoped the weather would make others stay away.

She opened her mouth to say the usual welcome until she saw who had walked into the store.

James Potter.

Too shocked to say anything, she watched as the boy looked around, spotted her, then went to stand next to her with an air of arrogance around him that oddly reminded her of Ron in some ways.

"Hey there," he grinned.

Finally pulling herself out of her stupor, she scowled at the messy haired boy. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Hogwarts?"

"Well, yeah," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "But I wanted to come here and see you. I bet it gets lonely down here."

Blinking at the straightforwardness of the answer, she said slowly, "So you snuck out of the castle to see me? You know you'll get in loads of trouble?"

"No, I wont," he reassured her.

Hermione once again sighed, wishing nothing more than to be able to go to sleep in her nice, soft bed upstairs. She crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest. "You really shouldn't be here. Does anyone else know you're out of grounds?"

"No, no one knows I'm here. Are you trying to get rid of me?" James questioned innocently, but tauntingly at the same time.

"Yes, I am," she snapped, turning around and walking back across the room to her desk. "I was just getting ready to close the shop and go to sleep."

"Sleep, huh?" his eyebrows rose dramatically for effect as he spoke in a seductive voice.

Hermione grimaced, her stomach plummeting to the floor at the same time. She hadn't even known the guy for more than a few days and he was already saying things such as that. Worse of it all was he was, technically, twenty years older than her. At the mere thought, her stomach did another twist and for a moment, she thought she might vomit.

"Yes, sleep, so if you wouldn't mind, go back to Hogwarts."

"And leave you here by yourself? From the looks of it, a storms moving in. Do you like spending your time here, in this dark shop at night knowing that there are prowlers up and about that could break in at any given moment?" he said mockingly once more, leaving Hermione surprised that he hadn't run out of breath yet, "Wouldn't you like some company while the storm passes?"

"No," she stated dryly after taking in all he said. In truth, she was actually slightly unnerved by storms but would rather stay by herself than with Harry's father. She didn't know the teen at all, and with the way he had already been acting, she was a bit anxious to get rid of him.

"You're not scared of storms?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and stomped a foot childishly, "No, I'm not. Now please leave."

The boy in front of her pouted. "Aw, come on. If I left now, I'd just get soaked from the rain."

"It's not raining yet," Hermione pointed out, nodding towards one of the windows that lit up as a fork of lightening shot across the sky.

James whined in a boyish voice, "I might get hit by lightening."

"It would serve you right," the girl muttered and sat down behind her desk. She picked up a few receipt copies and flipped through them, desperately trying to ignore the boy in the shop.

"You're cruel," the Gryffindor boy pouted. "Most girls aren't so mean."

"I'm not 'most girls' as you like to put it."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"That's how it sounded," Hermione snapped at him for the second time that night. She was tired and extremely unhappy about the unexpected visitor. "What is it you want from me? No one just randomly comes into a book shop to talk to the employee's."

"Can't I just spend some time with a pretty girl, such as yourself?" He said while picking up her muggle stapler and examining it. "What's this supposed to be?"

Hermione bit back the sharp reply that threatened to slip out, "It's a stapler. It helps keep papers," she held up the receipts, "Together so that they don't get scattered."

"How does that work? Is it like a sticking charm?"

"No," she said slowly, "You stack the papers like this, then you stick them through the slot on the front and press down on the stapler. As you press down, it takes a metal staple and imbeds it into the papers."

"Oh, like this?" The boy took some scrap paper on the desk that were blank and stacked them, rather messily, on top of each other before slipping the paper into the slot.

Hermione watched in hidden amusement as the boy struggled with the paper and in the process, got his finger stuck inside it. He shook his hand, trying to get the contraption off but it didn't budge, and only succeeded in hitting himself on the chin with it.

"Hey!" he yelped just as he accidentally pressed down on the stapler, successfully lodging a staple into his index finger. "Oww!"

Forcing herself to keep her face straight, she stood up and pried the muggle stapler out of his hands and away from his already hurt finger.

The boy looked, in horrid fascination, at the metal staple imbedded into his fingertip as a small bead of blood trickled down from the tiny wounds.

"See what happens when you aren't careful?" Hermione found herself saying jokingly.

James looked up at her, his eyes shining with his own amusement, despite the fact he'd just gotten a metal staple stuck in his finger. "That thing's dangerous."

"Not really," she replied, sighing dramatically at his own stupidity. Really, who stapled their own finger on accident? "Let me see your hand."

He sniffed a bit in fake misery as he held his hand out to her. She rolled her eyes at him, clearly showing her annoyance which he only grinned at. As much as she hated to admit it, having him there was quite amusing.

Slowly, she examined his finger. "Well, this might hurt a bit," she warned, staring seriously at the boy.

"What might?" He asked, his voice showing interest.

Hermione smiled a bit, "I'm taking the staple out."

"Wait," he said slowly, horror dawning on his face. "You're taking it out? Will it hurt?"

"It might. You have to stand still."

"But, can't you just use a spell or something to get it out?" His voice rose slightly with sudden panic. Hermione blinked, surprised by his sudden relunctance.

"I could _accio _it out, but that would hurt more," she offered, reaching for her wand in her pocket.

"No!"

"Then I'll have to do it manually," she sighed.

James visibly gulped. "Fine."

Hermione grinned, deciding to at least get some enjoyment out of the situation. She dramatically rolled her sleeves up and then painstakingly slow, she got ready to pull the staple out. James watched, wide-eyed and tense.

"One," she began, "two, and.. THREE!"

And she pulled out the staple.

James blinked, Hermione flicked the metal piece at him, and the wind picked up, howling loudly through the surrounding trees.

"You liar!" James finally laughed, breaking the silence while grinning like mad. "You got me all worried for nothing!"

"Yeah, well," Hermione sat back down, glancing at the window where rain was now pelting against the pane. "you deserved it for coming here in the first place."

"You don't want me here?"

"No, I want you to leave so I can get some sleep. Unlike you, I have work tomorrow, whereas you get to sleep in for the weekend."

"It's not even eleven yet," James pouted, sitting on the edge of her desk and picking up a small paper weight.

Hermione groaned in frustration and wrenched the object out of his hands, "Are you only here to bother me?"

"For the most part, yeah. But I also want to get to know you."

"You're kidding right?" she snorted in disbelief. She'd never known someone as stubborn as him.

"No," he said, looking like he meant it. That fact scared Hermione just a bit. "So, what's your favorite color? Book? How about subject when you were at school?"

She blinked. "You're not kidding, are you?" He shook his head with a light grin. "If I answer you, will you leave?" she sighed.

"Maybe."

Hermione began to feel frustrated, but complied, "My favorite color is lavender, although baby-blue is another nice color. My favorite book is _Hogwarts, A History, _and my favorite subject at school was Arithmacy."

"Why do you like _Hogwarts, A History_? You never went to Hogwarts. I'm sure I'd have seen you - unless you're older than you look.." he noted suspiciously, his eyes flittering across her face.

She nearly kicked herself. She couldn't let anyone know she wasn't from that time - the Ministry would be in an uproar. She quickly thought up a cover for her mistake, "I've read it many times, and I've always thought Hogwarts would be a fascinating place to learn. At my old school, we never had an enchanted ceiling, or moving staircases. It really does sound fascinating."

"Maybe you should come visit sometime?" he winked.

"No, I think not," she said dryly, meaning that in more than one way. She'd never, ever get close to Dumbledore. He always had a way of knowing things about people.

"Well, you're no fun," James sighed. "Do you play Quidditch?"

"No, I hate flying," she told him.

"What!" he looked at her incredulously.

"I said," she began slowly, "I. Hate. Flying."

He stared at her as if she'd grown another head, "I heard that! But how could you _hate _flying?"

"Simply. I hate heights," Hermione said while rubbing her temples. James could be annoying. It was a miracle no one had hexed him to oblivion yet.

Hermione looked up at said boy, noticing he was deep in thought. She noticed how he looked just like Harry, except for his eyes, which were a dark hazel. He had the same glasses, albeit newer looking, and was a bit taller. For a few moments of her stupor, she thought Harry was sitting there next to her.

She was pulled out of her own thinking when James said loudly, "So what are your hobbies?"

She sighed once more, but smiled a bit. In all honestly, his company wasn't _so _bad. But she reasoned it to only be because he reminded her of Harry in some ways. "I like to read, study, and you know,_sleep._"

There was a moments silence. "You're a boring person."

Her eyebrows rose, "And you're not?"

"No, I'm not," James said indignantly, giving Hermione the idea that no one ever said that to him. "I'm an interesting person, if I do say so myself."

"Maybe in your opinion. In my opinion, you're just like all the other boys I've met," she teased slightly, although knowing what she said was a complete lie. Not all boys were like him.

He threw his hands in the air, "It's a wonder that you even know any boys!"

Hermione glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

James paled a bit, "I didn't mean that. It's just that you're so stubborn."

"So are you."

".. so I am."

Hermione couldn't help but crack a smile at the look of dawning that appeared on his face. He didn't realize her smile and continued to be horrified by the previous discovery.

"You learn something everyday," The girl stated with a hint of amusement.

The boy finally looked at her and cracked a half grin. "Too right you are."

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A/N: Yes, it's way shorter than the first chapter, but I didn't really feel like continuing to write. I have other stories to update, and this is better than nothing, eh? 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies.**

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**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-WRITTEN!**

A/N: Okay, so I realized that this past chapter was quite horrible, despite all the applause I recieved by many reviewers. But I know Hermione was completely OOC in that last chapter, so I've taken the time to go through and slightly change chapter three - and it came out rather nice in my opinion. She's more herself, I believe, and it puts a different air on the whole chapter. Read if you wish, don't read if you don't want to. If you wish to review, but can't, maybe try the anonymous way, but I don't think it will matter if you do or don't - I should have the fourth chapter up sometime next week. Thanks for the critism guys - it really helps. - Min

**Thanks **Saz-646, Viktor Krum's lazyllama101, X-JANKEY-X, cassi, Kersies, LunaLovegoss, WhiteTwitch, Kill-All-Flamers, Reanne1102, and Aria DeLoncray **for all the wonderful reviews!**

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Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex  
a.k.a. Min

Chapter Three

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That night, James had stayed at the shop for over two hours with Hermione, joking around and having a good time all by himself, while Hermione tried to ignore him half the time, but to no avail. She was quite annoyed and tired by the time he left to go back to the castle when the storm calmed down, but the girl was also a bit happy that he had been there - though she wouldn't have admitted that.

Days started to pass, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if James would come back. She was slightly relieved that he hadn't returned to the shop yet, but deep down inside, she was kind of disappointed.

Ever since that night when Harry's father had come to the bookshop, Hermione had begun questioning why she was back in time twenty years. Could her falling back in time have happened originally and she had never had any clue to her other 'self'? Was that even possible?

Even for her, it was all confusing. She even contemplated about going to Dumbledore a few times, but she was determined to figure the problem out on her own - she wasn't the 'Gryffindor know-it-all' for nothing, right? She decided that she would only go to Hogwarts Headmaster if things begun to get drastic.

The days and nights went by as if in slow motion, and after a seemingly long week, Hermione found herself walking along the path leading to the shrieking shack.

It was cool outside, and the sun was just beginning to dip down behind the surrounding mountains and trees. The sky was painted crimson and orange, with a tint of pink, and a few white, puffy clouds floated idly about.

Hermione walked down the path, listening to her footsteps and the faint calls of the night birds around the surrounding vicinity. A few owls even swooped down, hunting for their evening meal.

It only took a few minutes for the girl to find herself looking at the old house beyond the fence. It was one of the only places she could go to for comfort - not that it _was _supposed to bring her comfort, as it was _apparently_ the most haunted house in Britain. But in an odd, twisted way, the events that would take place in the future there held her to that spot. It was her only link to her old life, with Harry, Ron, Ginny, her parents, and everyone else she cared deeply about. Well, besides Hogwarts, but she couldn't just visit there.

She could simply call it her safe haven for the time being, where she could just sit under a random tree and watch the stars come out and frame the sky with glitter.

That's exactly what she was doing that night. She settled herself down on the sloping hill so that she could get an overall look at the shack, and even part of the forbidden forest.

All worries and thoughts slowly drifted away from her mind as she allowed the peaceful surroundings to filter them out.

The girl wrapped her arms around her knee's with her chin propped up on them and sighed heavily. It was beautiful outside, as the sun began to set. The surrounding area was slowly beginning to darken, and stars began to shine above. The wind picked up a bit, allowing a small breeze to ruffle the long blades of grass and the large leaves of the many surrounding trees.

The girl was so at peace that she didn't hear footsteps approaching.

"Hey, what's she doing out here?"

Hermione jumped at the sudden sound of voices - but what was more surprising was that she'd heard that voice before.

"Well, obviously, she's out here to look at the Shrieking Shack," another voice that Hermione had become familiar with nights before spoke loudly, causing her to whip around to see the two figures.

Behind her, James Potter and Sirius Black stood lazily higher up the slope, staring at her.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, irritated. She didn't like being snuck up on - she'd had too many run-ins in her old life and was quiet annoyed that she hadn't heard the two of them approach. Although, she never had been great at the whole 'defense' thing. That was Harry's job.

"Well, we came here to enjoy the scenery," James said and he strode forward and plopped himself down on the grass beside her. "Isn't that obvious?"

Hermione scowled slightly, "You shouldn't be out of school."

"Ah, come on," Sirius pouted as he walked forward too, but went past them so that he could lean over the fence. "Don't be such a spoil-sport."

She huffed, annoyed by Sirius. She had never really favored the guy out of all people, even before he died. Not that she had anything against him - she just thought he was a hypocrite sometimes. He'd always tell Harry that if one really wanted to know what a man was really like, 'look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.' In Hermione's opinion, he had acted arrogant and mean towards his 'inferiors', which by going with his advice, showed her who he really was on the inside. Or maybe it was just because she didn't understand the guy...

"Hey, what's the look for?" he scrunched his nose up a bit. Hermione just shook her head and looked away. "Prongs, I thought you said that this bird was one of the best you'd met. I don't see what you were saying - are you sure this is her?"

Once again, the girl gave him an annoyed look but also turned her attention to James. "What did you say to him about me?"

James gulped, his eyes darting about fearfully, "Uh, I uh…"

Sirius stormed over, arms crossed against his chest, "He said that you were one of the best bird's he'd ever met. And that's saying something - it's hard to get him rambling on about some girl, especially if he'd only just met her. He's never spoken so much about one girl - including Evans! Evans for Merlin's sake!"

"Shut up, you prat," James mumbled, ruffling his hair up in embarrassment. Hermione didn't notice though, as her mind suddenly shifted to the thought of Harry's mother. Was 'Evan's' Harry's mother? Wasn't her name Lily Evans? "Look, don't listen to him, he's just jealous because he can't get a girl to go out with him at the moment. It's the longest he's been single in about three months."

Hermione's eyebrows rose, "And how often does his girlfriends change?"

"About twice a week, if he's feeling generous," James stated and earned a whack upside the head by his friend.

"How crude," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. "I don't see how anyone would go for you if you do that. Women are more than items."

"I know that," James said quietly.

"I don't really care," was Sirius' response. "A bird is a bird."

Hermione set a piercing glare on him and he actually winced a bit. He hurried tomake amends,"Not that I'm talking about you, of course. You're different, obviously."

Hermione rolled her eyes again, moving the conversation away from girls, "Does anyone know you've left the school?"

"No," they both said simultaneously and cracked into identical grins.

"What would happen if someone found out?"

"We'd have detention with Filch for about a month," Sirius shrugged.

"Oh, then you wont mind me telling someone?" Hermione questioned jokingly, feeling slightly irritated by the boys. The company was alright, but she just felt uneasy in the presence of two of the most infamous Marauders. How could she ever tell Harry about it if there ever _was _a possible way for her to back to her time?

"NO!" James cried, waving his arms about and obviously missing her humor, "Please! Don't do that!"

"She's evil, Prongs," Sirius whined, eyes large with fright of being caught out of school, "What do you _see _in her?"

"Padfoot, shut it," James huffed, finally catching the amused look on the girl's face. "She's only joking around.. I think?"

"You'd be wise to listen to your friend," Hermione said to Sirius, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Or if you just want to do what you will, by all means, go ahead. Just, use your brain - the absence of it may get you thrown into Azkaban someday."

"Like that would ever happen," he rolled his eyes and a feeling of saddness overtook Hermione's feelings at the irony of his statement. "Look, James, sorry to break it to you, but I don't find this interesting at all. I'm outta' here. You'll find me in Jonko's when you're done."

"Okay," James sighed, a bit miffed by his friends departure. "Goodbye, fellow Marauder."

Sirius saluted like a sailor, "Goodbye, Prongsy. We shall meet again!"

Hermione watched as the boy walked off, leaving James and her in complete silence. The surrounding light had left, leaving them drenched in complete twilight.

"So…."

"I don't know," Hermione said, looking completely away from James. He was sitting so close to her that it was hard to do so, and ignoring him was out of the question. She could nearly hear his heart beating from inside his chest.

"Nice view, huh?"

"Yeah.."

Hermione wanted to scream out loud because of the awkwardness of the situation. They continued to sit like that as the twilight began to filter away and the shadows became darker and drenched them in darkness.

"Look," Hermione said after about a quarter of an hour. "I guess I better be going. You should meet your friend at Jonko's and get back to school before you're missed."

She heard a small, almost inaudible sigh from the boy next to her. She sent a questioning glance at him that he couldn't see in the dark and stood up, shortly followed by him.

As they boy stood there, a few feet apart, the stars twinkled and the wind picked up a bit. Hermione brushed her hair behind her ears to try and keep it out of her face and she tightened the clasp on her cloak, fiddling with the hook for something to do. James was once again ruffling up his hair in the back. She supposed it was what he did when he was nervous or under some kind of pressure.

"Well, I guess this is where I say goodnight," he said awkwardly.

"Yeah… I guess I'll be seeing you around - and by no coincidence, no doubt?"

"You bet," he grinned at her.

She kept her face straight, although she had the impulsive urge to smile as well. "Well, goodnight."

"Night," James said but didn't move. Hermione took that as her own cue to leave.

She gave him a slight smile then began to brush past him. She intended on leaving there quickly, but as luck would have it, she tripped on something on the ground and stumbled a bit.

She threw her arms forward as she begun falling but instead of hitting solid ground, she hit something else that was solid - pure muscle. Before she could pull herself away, she felt strong arms wrap around her, holding her steadily in place against the built chest of the Gryffindor.

"James," she said warningly, realizing that what she'd tripped on had been his own foot. She suddenly had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach that he had had that all planned out.

Instead of answering, the boy looked down into her brown eyes and smiled gently.

"Please," she said, clearing her throat. "Let go of me. I really should be going." The girl attempted getting out of his arms but realized he had no intention of letting her go yet. "James Potter!"

"Hermione," he said quietly, and Hermione heard something else in his voice that made her freeze.

She stared up just in time to meet the lust filled eyes before he pressed his lips firmly against hers. She froze on the spot, unmoving. Her heart raced and thumped painfully against her ribcage and her legs felt as if they'd give out.

After an agonizingly long time, the boy pulled away, leaving a very flushed and timid girl standing in front of him.

"Hermione?"

She didn't answer him, but shook slightly. It felt so… awkward. This was Harry's dad - his _dad_. It had to be a sin for him to kiss her.

"I-I'm sorry, James," she finally choked out.

"Did I do something wrong?" his voice was filled with concern.

She shook her head, blinking back tears of frustration and confusion. What was she feeling? She'd never felt the emotions that she felt now all at once. It was hate, want, love, confusion, fear, and above all - something unknown.

"Look, if I upset you, I'm sorry," he hurried to apologize, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. At her shudder, he quickly withdrew it.

"No, look, you didn't do anything wrong," she whispered, trying to convince herself that it hadn't been wrong, but her mind screamed at her that it was.

He looked disbelievingly at her and inquired, "Are you sure?"

She nodded again, "Yes. Well, I best be going now. Goodnight."

"Night…"

And with those repeated farewells, Hermione hurried past the boy. She shuddered and stumbled through the darkness, avoiding the many bushes and brambles the best she could.

She blinked back the tears of frustration still and pulled the hood of her cloak up to hid her face from anyone who might be out. It was so wrong, but yet she realized it had felt so right, in an awkward way.

She didn't want to think about it anymore. It was too much for her to dwell on. For all she knew, it could have been an accident - nothing more but another stumble on something, but she knew she was using ludicrous lies to try and convince herself otherwise.

"No, this isn't supposed to happen," she whispered. "Not supposed to happen… ever."

She finally found herself standing outside of the bookshop. She took out her wand and used an unlocking charm on the door to get inside. After locking up, she quickly headed upstairs to her lodge, where she quickly changed into her pajama's and crawled into her bed.

Picking up a large novel from her bedside table, she flipped through it to find her last reading spot. When she did, she began reading, but her mind began drifting out of focus of what the words said on the page and she found herself replaying the moment near the Shrieking Shack.

The kiss…

A kiss…

Her first, actual kiss. Most wouldn't have believed it - she had 'dated' Viktor Krum in her fourth and fifth years and most people thought their relationship had been intimate. But really, it had just been a very close friendship.

And James Potter had stolen the first kiss from her - and as much as it wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but feel as if she'd betrayed Harry in some way or another. It was his father, and his father had obviously fallen for her - Hermione. What about Lily? She _had _to steer him in the right direction before things got out of hand more than they were.

She was already screwing up, she realized. She had told herself she'd do the best she could to stop herself from changing the future. But if she continued to see James the way she was, things would turn out too differently. She would just have to avoid him.

Hoping that she was thinking on the right track, she closed her book and buried herself down into her blankets, all her thoughts muddling together to form a jumbled up mass that gave her a headache.

She signed heavily and rolled over, pulling the little switch down on the lamp beside her bed.

When the lights went out, the moonlight from the cool, autumn night was seen from the window. Bare trees creaked and groaned outside, leaving an eerie sound to echo around the shop while dark shadows danced about on the floorboards and walls of the room.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly, wishing that the sounds would go away. She wasn't used to being on her own like she was. Hermione had always had Ron, Harry, or Ginny there to be with her, but being somewhere so confused and lost left her feeling very uncertain and scared of her surroundings. She didn't know anything of where she was, or what she was messing with.

Time was a tricky thing, and she had to watch out for it… or things could turn out horrendously for everyone…

And that was something she didn't want to risk happening.


	4. Chapter 4

**Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

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A/N: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Reanne1102, who's a great friend and a great author on this site. Go check out her HG/JP story. : D

**Thanks **Aria DeLoncray, sum1swaiting, Harpiebird, I O U, LoveForRupertGrint, Reanne1102, Kaz, Saz-646, LunaLovegoss, RubberDuckyLoser, Hawaiian-Rachael, seriously bored, Shinebright-Starlight, Kill-All-Flamers , and mandy-jg **for all the wonderful reviews!**

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Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex a.k.a. Min

Chapter Four

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The November cold crept into her room well before the sun had risen. Hermione had woken half an hour before, feeling slightly feverish.

Her night wandering around Hogsmeade every night was obviously something she should take more caution on, especially in the cold weather as of late. She lay in bed now, her covers pulled up well over her chest and all the way up to her chin. Her eyes were hooded, and her body shook slightly in fever.

Hermione lay like that until the sun had begun rising in the sky, sending a dull, grey light into her room from the cloud covered rays of the sun. She groaned slightly and sat up, the chill air of the room sending more unwanted chills through her body as it pressed against her clammy skin.

It had been quite a while since she had last seen James. She wasn't sure if he was ignoring her or if he was just giving her space. The girl wasn't too sure either if she liked it, or hated it. Her feelings were quite jumbled up from the past month or so.

When she thought of the raven haired boy, images of Harry popped into her mind, but behind those, there was a sense of doubt. He wasn't Harry, and he wasn't Harry's dad _yet._

But every time those thoughts came into her mind, she discarded them, thinking them to be nothing but her imagination. But she couldn't help but remember the night he'd kissed her. He'd played it out so smoothly that if she wasn't as smart as she was thought to be, she actually would have thought that her tripping incident was an accident.

The kiss was so phenomenal - under the stars, right as twilight ended. He had held her so delicately that she couldn't help but wonder if he had been just as frightened as her.

But she was frightened for many reasons - much more serious than his own petty thoughts of being rejected by her.

Her reasons lay in the future, where he should and would be with Lily Evan's. She couldn't mess up the future just because of her stupid mistakes. Her falling back in time wasn't supposed to happen - that much was for certain. She couldn't mess it up; serious consequences followed those who did.

Sighing miserably, Hermione got out of bed, tripping over her overly long pajama pants and staggered. She really wasn't ready for the upcoming day.

After retreating into the bathroom, she turned on the shower and allowed the hot steam to pour into the room, providing much more comfort that the chilly room beyond.

After showering, and finishing up on her morning activities while trying to ignore the constant sniffles and perspiration that formed against her skin, she tied her thick, bushy hair back in a low ponytail while she walked downstairs to the store.

It was quiet and a bit dark, the near winter grey light filtering in through the many windows. Shadows danced about the room as branches swayed in the wind outside of the windows.

Hermione shuddered. The place gave her the creeps sometimes.

She walked over to the door, pulling her turtleneck higher up on her neck. She unlocked the doors and flipped the sign in the window so that it said 'open' before walking away from the door that allowed the cold air from outside to slip through. She vaguely thought about needing to see someone about the place getting repairs.

After a few hours, a few customers came and went, and slowly, she noticed the streets slowly filling with people. At a closer inspection, she realized that they were students - it must have been another Hogsmeade weekend. The last one felt as if it had been just the other day, yet at the same time, it felt as if it had been forever.

Behind her desk, she fiddled with some papers, wondering if James and his friends would stop by the shop. Despite how much she tried to tell herself she didn't want them there, she actually liked their company - or James' in any case.

A look of horror dawn on her face once she realized she'd thought that. How could she favor James' company over anyone else? It was just an absurd thought!

She hastily wiped a strand of hair out of her face and felt her forehead. She knew she had a fever, and needed to take a fever reducing potion soon. She looked at the wizarding clock on the wall to the right. Hermione then decided to go ahead and take her lunch break and get some medicine.

She put up a sign in the window and left the store, dressed in a heavy coat and scarf. She didn't want to get sicker.

Hermione trudged through the streets, trying to avoid the many students milling about - which was quite hard, as they seemed to be everywhere. She remembered in her school days, the students had always tried to go _warm_ places in cold weather.

Shaking her head at the students, she looked for a store that might carry some medicine. Not many shops where there like in her time, and there were even a few that she had never seen - but time does change things, she thought to herself.

Her eyes scanned the plaques hanging in front or above the doors and shook her head when she couldn't find any store that might carry the potion. What kind of place was Hogsmeade, not carrying any medical potions…

She idly thought about owling madam Pomfrey about sending her a potion, but thought against it, knowing that it would seem odd.

She sighed in frustration and turned around quickly, ready to go back to the shop and possibly do something remotely interesting. But as she turned on heel, she ran into someone who promptly yelped in surprise and the two fell to the ground.

Hermione rubbed her right arm, having landed on it. She sat up and looked towards the disheveled figure on the ground in front of her and her heart restricted for a moment before it nearly stopped.

She had just knocked Lily Evans over.

"I'm so sorry!" the redhead shouted in distress, her belongings now strewn across the cobblestone walk. "I didn't mean to walk into you like that!"

Hermione stood up, brushing her clothes off as Lily did. "No, it's fine," she smiled gently, though her moves were shaky. "I shouldn't have just turned around like I did. I was just a bit frustrated."

"Oh," Lily bent over to pick up some books, "I'm still sorry. I should have been paying more attention."

Hermione began picking up some of the belongings before they could be trampled by the numerous people in the streets. She handed them to Lily, who smiled and thanked her.

"Hey," Hermione said suddenly, "You wouldn't know where I may be able to find a fever reducing potion, would you?"

Lily shook her head a bit, frowning, "No, I don't."

She let out a groan of frustration. "What kind of place _is_ this?"

The redhead looked at Hermione curiously, "Are you not from around here?"

Said girl shook her head slightly, her mind numbing over at how true her words were. "No, I'm not. I… recently left home, and found a job here in Hogsmeade at the old bookshop down there," she pointed from where she had first come from and Lily's face brightened a bit.

"Do you like it here? What's it like working there? I bet you get to read loads of books…"

Hermione nodded, feeling a bit distressed. "Yes, I do like it here; although, I miss home. And it's decent working at the book shop, but boring sometimes."

"Well, you don't get to do much, do you?" Lily asked, more to herself then to Hermione. "Oh. By the way, I'm Lily. Lily Evans."

The brown haired girl gave a weak smile, "I'm Hermione Granger."

Lily smiled brightly, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Hermione tried to match her smile but sneezed moments later.

"Are you sick?" The Ravenclaw girl asked Hermione, sounding concerned.

"Just a bit," she replied. "I really wish I had a fever reducer, or something that might help me."

Lily looked sympathetic, "You'll have to order something, though that could take a day or two. They're so slow with those things."

"Lovely," Hermione scowled to herself. Just what she needed - a fever and no way to get rid of it.

"Would you like to go somewhere warm? I don't think that this cold weather is going to help at all," Lily tried joking.

"Yeah, how about The Three Broomsticks? I could go for a hot butterbear right about now."

Lily nodded eagerly and the two of them headed off to the pub.

Hermione felt odd, seeing Harry's mom. It was just like when she saw James for the first time. Seeing, hearing, even talking to her seemed surreal. And her mind nagged at her about how unfair it was that she could do those things and Harry never could.

Her heart clenched almost painfully at the thought of Harry. She was doing so much that betrayed him in so many ways. But she couldn't help it, she thought to herself desperately. She couldn't do anything about what was happening. It was all too coincidental.

"- and it's really nice during the spring," Lily was saying with enthusiasm, talking about the surrounding area of Hogsmeade. Hermione nodded, only half listening. The rest of her was taking in Lily's profile.

She was a short girl, nearly as short as Hermione. Her face was freckled, and her red hair was quite prominent against her white coat and blue scarf. Hermione avoided looking at the girls eyes, as they reminded her too much of the things she'd left behind. She couldn't allow herself to dwell like she found herself doing quite often.

Hermione could tell that Lily had many features that Harry had. The way she held herself and the way she laughed. Also, the way she gestured when she spoke, or her facial expressions - it was obvious that Harry had inherited more from his mother than most people said.

She found herself smiling at that thought just as they walked into the designated pub. It was quite crowded and a cheery atmosphere filled the air. Lily had disappeared into the crowd moments before, heading towards the counter. Hermione looked around, trying to see if there was anyone she might have known or recognized from her time, but there were so many people it was hard to distinguish one from the other.

"Where should we sit?" Lily asked a few moments later as she came back holding two steaming mugs of butterbear and stood on her toes to try and see over the crowd of heads.

"Somewhere over there," Hermione pointed and Lily nodded in assent before walking towards an available table with the brown haired girl in tow.

After they situated themselves, Lily handed Hermione a butterbear who eagerly took it with clammy hands. "My treat," she smiled.

Hermione thanked her and took a sip of the drink, feeling it's warmth spread through her cold limbs. She disliked winter, but at the same time, enjoyed it. She loved the crisp smell of winter, but the cold was another thing…

"So where did you go to school?" Lily asked.

"I was home schooled," she answered with the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Really?" the other girl asked excitedly, "What's that like? I've never known anyone to be home-schooled! I'm a muggleborn, see."

"So am I," Hermione said, not realizing what she was saying until it was too late.

"Then how were you home schooled?" Lily inquired curiously.

"My… uncle was a wizard and he taught me," she said lamely, hoping Lily would buy it - which she did.

"Oh, that must have been exciting," she ranted, "I've always wondered what it would be like to learn magic while being home schooled. I've read about it and I heard that it's a lot more difficult than learning at a public school like Hogwarts or even Durmstrang. What did you think when you learned that you were a witch? I was quite surprised when I received my Hogwarts letter and thought it was all a joke my sister was trying to play on me - but I was proven wrong with one of the professor's came to my house! My mom and dad were a bit confused for a while, but they didn't mind at all and allowed me to go to Hogwarts."

Hermione was a bit surprised that the girl didn't take a breath during her speech. Even she didn't think she could say all that without taking a breather. But Hermione didn't dwell on the thought as her head began to spin and she felt slightly dizzy.

"Well… I was surprised, too. My mom and dad also thought it was a joke, but my uncle came by and told us all about the wizarding world. They didn't want to send me to a school though and my uncle said he'd teach me how to do magic. We didn't have much money, see," she said as an excuse, hoping that the girl would once more buy what she said. She still felt a bit light headed.

Lily nodded, "Quite a few families are like that. But some don't even learn magic because of that! Can you believe it?"

That's how the next half an hour went by - Lily and Hermione ranting on about different subjects. They were both enjoying themselves, finally having found someone else who shared the same interests.

Hermione was still a bit uneasy about talking to Lily, but soon, the feeling evaporated. She no longer saw a dead woman in front of her - after realizing what Lily's personality was, she found that she quite enjoyed the girls' company. She just hoped what she was doing wasn't a sin.

Eventually, Hermione had to call lunch over, because she had to get back to the shop. Smiling rather dejectedly, Lily waved.

"I'll see you again, sometime?" Lily said uncertainly.

"Maybe," Hermione told her, smiling slightly.

"Okay. Bye, then," she said sadly.

"Bye."

The parting was slightly awkward. Neither really wanted to go, and Hermione was not looking forward to sitting in an overly dusty, cold store. She was also feeling a bit more sick, noticing that she felt colder than normal.

She sighed, rubbing her hands together as she walked out in the bitter cold once more. The crowd was slowly thinning out as everyone was now heading places to eat lunch for the day.

Up ahead, Hermione could hear laughter, and realized that it was near her shop. As she rounded the corner of the street, she saw four boys at her shop, standing off to the side.

She groaned in frustration - all four of the Marauders. Just what she needed. One or two of them might have been fine, but four? And then she paled significantly at one thought.

James would be there.

Bugger.

* * *

A/N: I know this is a bit shorter, but I plan to get the next chapter up much sooner than this one took. And I know this is a boring chapter, but it was necessary - to me in any case. Anyways, thanks for reading! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine**

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A/N: Alrighty guys, just so you know, I haven't updated much because I've gotten a new job, and I'm gone to work ten hours a day. Or more, actually, considering the drive there and back. So with that and having to sleep, eat, and bathe regularly, I have had hardly any time to do anything, so in between things I've had to do this weekend, I've worked on this. I hope you guys don't hate me! I'm getting to all my stories soon, it's just a bit hard when I'm worn out from work - and exercise. I realized that if I take an hour per day to do some exercises, I feel much, much, _much_ better than I usually do. And yeah, I'm double tired because of it all, but no matter what, I'll continue updating! Just be patient! All the reviews for this story is what made me update this first. And Reanne - I will get to your stories soon! When I have time in the afternoon after work sometime this week, I'll start reading them!

**Thanks **Viktor Krum's lazyllama101, Aria DeLoncray, jka1, Harpiebird, CrymsonTear, Reanne1102, maraudermarshall, ourlittlesecret7, Shinebright-Starlight, alexekia2222, An Anti-Sheep Cheese Muffin, Me, Angelic Bladez- Broken And Twisted, LunaLovegoss, Rubber Ducky Loser, mandi, MasterOfReaders, and Mrs. St. John Allerdyce **for all the wonderful reviews!**

* * *

Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex

Chapter Five

**WARNING: MATURE SCENE AHEAD!**

* * *

Hermione paused in her stroll when she caught sight of the Marauders, huddled outside of the shop. She groaned inwardly, knowing that if Sirius was there then everything would be chaotic. She'd heard stories from the older version of the man as he told Harry about his and James' 'adventures'.

She was tempted to turn around and find another place to stay for a while until she was sure they had left, but they spotted her first.

"Hey! Hermione!" Sirius shouted loudly and everyone turned to look at her. She rolled her eyes slightly before she began trudging forwards towards the shop.

"What are you all doing here?" she questioned them suspiciously.

"James dragged us up here," Peter said, disgruntled from the cold.

Her eyebrows rose slightly, "How long have you been out here?"

"For nearly a whole bloody hour!" Sirius whined as he rubbed his arms in attempt to keep warm.

"I haven't even been gone that long," Hermione said, eyeing the boy incredulously.

"So? You've still been gone for a long time!" he barked out in complete distress, teeth chattering.

Hermione turned to look at James, amusement on both of their faces, "Is there a reason why you all are here?"

He shook his head, a slight blush creeping up onto his cheeks. Hermione noted it didn't fit him well - she'd heard stories of James Potter from many people when they spoke to Harry. He was supposed to be unfazed by anything and the soft pink color on his cheeks just seemed slightly off.

Hermione shook her head as well and tapped the door with her wand and using an unlocking charm on it. She opened it and beckoned the Marauders into the shop. They hurriedly went in, trying to warm themselves from the onslaught of cold.

"Finally!" Peter said, shaking like a leaf. Hermione rose an eyebrow at him.

"Now you just need to start a fire in here," Sirius mumbled as he looked around. "Don't you have a fireplace or something?"

Hermione nearly laughed, "In a book shop? Close to books? I'm not that stupid."

Sirius blushed slightly, "How do you keep this place warm then?"

"I don't." She turned around and flipped the sign in the window so that it said open once more. She then walked to her desk and sat down behind it, pulling her scarf up to her chin. "Have a seat," she indicated and transfigured four chairs from a few scraps of cardboard laying about around her desk.

The other obliged, glad to get off their feet. James scooted his chair a bit towards where Hermione sat, but didn't get too close. Sirius sat next to him, and Peter came next. Remus was the only one to hesitate.

"Guy's, should we really be bothering her while she's trying to work?" he asked, glancing about at the party.

Sirius looked at the russet haired boy incredulously, "We stood out there freezing our arses off, and now you're having second thoughts about being here? I am NOT going back now - my legs hurt!"

James let out a small snort of amusement. Hermione just ignored the exchange and looked down at a sheet of paper on her desk that had budget prices listed in two columns.

"So, Hermione," she heard Remus say out of the blue; the silence was broken, and the other boys looked at Remus in surprise. Hermione got the feeling that he never really spoke out on his own unless provoked.

"Yes?" she looked up, unsure. Her eyes met his amber, and she saw that his eyebrows were knitted slightly - whether in thought, confusion, or something else, she didn't know.

"Do you really work here on your own?" he asked, eyes boring into hers.

She determinedly met his gaze and answered, "Yes, I do. The previous owner moved to London with a bigger business, but found that she wanted this store to stay open. Why?"

The boy just shook his head slightly, "I was only curious. I find it odd that a girl as young as you would practically run a shop."

"Why is that?" she asked heatedly. Did he not think she was capable? She'd been through so much in her life, that she knew that running a bookstore was at the bottom of that list.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he said hurriedly, noticing her tone and the others surprised looks. "I was only curious. You don't find someone as young as you working on their own in these times."

Hermione was surprised. Surely he wasn't worried about her? He didn't even know her that well! "Well, I'm definitely capable of taking care of myself," she said dryly, head held high. She'd be damned if she let her weaknesses show through. She honestly was a bit worried sometimes when there were more of the darker clad people about, but no one had ever bothered her - that is, except for James.

The boy held his hands up in silent apology and walked a bit away. He appeared to be skimming through a shelf of books, but Hermione knew better. He was using a tactic she had always used when eavesdropping on others conversations - mainly Harry's and Ron's.

There was a small stretch of silence before Hermione sighed heavily and sniffed a bit. She wasn't feeling as bad as she had earlier that day, but she was still a bit feverish feeling. She shuffled some papers for a moment that had been on her desk, trying to give herself something to do and to take her mind of the ear numbing silence, until James gently tugged the papers out of her hands.

"I don't see why everyone is so uptight," he said lightly. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend, guys. Lets have some fun!"

"In here?" Sirius asked, disbelieving.

Hermione felt annoyed, "If you don't want to be here, then get out."

Sirius shook his head stubbornly, his bottom lip stuck out slightly in a pout. Hermione felt her lips quirk at that, but forced herself not to smile. He could be so childish, but it was amusing, she had to admit.

"Padfoot, quit with that," James punched his friend playfully on the shoulder.

The other boy let out a slight whine while rubbing the spot on his arm where he was hit. "That hurt," he cried.

"Suck it up," Peter piped up, grinning madly at the other boy.

"Oh, you two are cruel," mumbled the disgruntled Black as he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

The next hour passed relatively similar to the previous conversations. Remus mainly stayed away, eventually finding a book to read, while Sirius, James, and Peter conversed with Hermione. They told so many horrid jokes to her that she was surprised anyone had ever come up with the puns. During the whole time, she found herself sneaking small glances at James, and sometimes, she saw him doing the same.

Her mind began wondering slightly throughout the conversations. What would she do about James? She felt her heart do a little flip every time he smiled at her when no one else was looking. She had a sinking feeling that she was falling for him.

Eventually, Sirius and Peter began complaining that their stomachs were grumbling, giving them all the signal that it was time to eat. The four boys agreed on going to the Three Broomsticks for something to eat, claiming that none of them had eaten anything for lunch. Hermione reluctantly allowed herself to get pulled along, only after reprimanding then for not thinking to bring something to eat before they came to the bookshop.

It was late in the evening, and the sky was beginning to darken as the sun began to set behind the clouds over the horizon. As the five of them stepped out into the bitter cold of the weather, Hermione pulled her scarf up to her chin as they began walking down the cobblestone walk, leading into the busier parts of the village.

Hermione looked around, seeing small clumps of lingering snow on the ground from days previous. She was too occupied, looking about as Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked in front of her that she wasn't aware when James slid his arm around her waist until he pulled her to him.

She jumped, her head whipping around to meet his gaze. She opened her mouth to scold him for his actions, but he only smiled and covered her mouth with his.

Up ahead, Sirius laughed loudly at something Remus said to him. James glanced over at them then winked at Hermione. "I thought you might be a bit cold."

She felt a blush sweep across her cheeks, but she decided to tell herself that it was only her fever. "I'm fine, actually," she told him, moving his arm from around her.

She saw a slight look of disappointment on his face but let it go - she couldn't let him grow to fond of her; but deep down inside her heart, she felt a jab at her own heart and she knew she was only trying to keep herself from getting to fond of the Potter.

When they arrived at the Three-Broomsticks, Hermione and the others wove through the heavy crowd of people to find a table for themselves. Sirius went off to get them drinks, and Remus led the group. They found a table in a corner near the back, camouflaged slightly by decorative plants.

James sat next to Hermione, who sat on the end in front of Peter, who sat next to Remus. Eventually, Sirius came back and passed the drinks around before he too, took a seat next to James.

Hermione picked up her drink and took a large sip before she nearly gagged at the taste.

"What is this?" she hissed and sputtered.

The boys looked incredulously at her. Sirius blinked, "It's Fire Whiskey."

Hermione dropped the mug on the table, but luckily, it landed upright. "Fire Whiskey?" she squeaked.

She'd never drunk anything alcoholic before besides a bit of wine on the holidays when her parents allowed it.

"Haven't you ever had any?" James inquired curiously.

"No!" she exclaimed. Hermione and alcohol?

"James, it looks like you've picked up a sober bird," Sirius told his friend sadly.

James rolled his eyes a bit, "Shut it Padfoot." He turned to Hermione, "Do you not want it?"

"Of course not!" she scolded. "I don't drink Fire Whiskey."

Sirius rolled his eyes noticeably, "Come on," he whined, "Just try a bit of it. Unless you have a low tolerance to alcohol, you should be able to drink that whole mug without getting tipsy."

Hermione doubted that. She glanced unsurely at the mug. The searing heat of the drink in her mouth was a bit addicting, but she didn't want to drink it. She knew that there was a high chance she would get drunk, and Merlin only knew what would happen if she did. "I'd rather not."

"Come on," James chided, waving his own mug in front of her. He grinned and said in a sing-song voice, "You know you want it. It will make you feel better."

She shook her head and pushed his cup away from her. "No thanks."

"Please?"

"No."

"Come on -"

"No."

Remus shook his head, "James, if she doesn't want it, don't force her to drink it."

"Yeah," Peter provided, smirking at Hermione. The girl could have sworn she saw him wink at James, "If she's such a pansy that she wont drink it, let her be."

Her face flushed deeply. Her, a pansy? "Who are you calling a pansy?" she growled out in irritation.

"You, obviously," Sirius said playfully. Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Everyone else isn't complaining about a small drink."

"I'm not complaining," she said indignantly, "I just don't drin-"

"You're complaining," Sirius chided. "You're weak -"

Hermione scowled heavily at him. Who was he to call her weak? She'd gone through more than he had so far in life, and here he was calling her weak?

She picked up her mug, her eyes locked onto Sirius' in challenge. She would show him just who the weak one was. With the rim of the mug to her lips, she smirked at the boy before tilting the cup back and allowing it's contents to pour into her mouth, searing her throat as she swallowed.

It was on.

* * *

"Nooo," Sirius slurred heavily, leaning against the table with one arm. "She cheat… cheated."

Remus shook his head slowly, surveying his drunk friend. Peter was laughing silently at the display, and James, who had had more than his fair share of drinks as well, laughed boisterously at his friend.

Hermione stood up triumphantly, letting her eleventh mug fall onto the table, completely drained of the beverage.

"I believe sshe bea' chu, Padfoot," James grinned drunkenly.

"Tha' can't be," the other boy hiccupped, his arm slipping from the table and he stumbled forward.

"I think it's time that you went back to the castle," Remus said slightly amused, although worry shown on his face.

Hermione grinned, although she knew what she had done was wrong. There was no doubt about it - she was drunk. Her mind was fuzzy with the past half and hour's events, and she felt happier. Everything was much more alive than it had been earlier that day.

She gripped onto the table tightly, hoping to not lose her balance. She pointed at Sirius, "You lose, Black."

The boy shook his head stubbornly. "No, you did."

Hermione laughed, the room spinning slightly in an intoxicating way. She glanced over at all the boys around her and stopped when she saw the messy dark haired boy. Harry? Harry was there! She grinned broader, wanting to prove to her friend that she wasn't such a bookworm as they thought her to be. She turned back to Sirius and exclaimed, "You lost! Don't be such a sore loser-"

"I'm NOT a sore loser!" Sirius shouted in drunken anger, eyes unfocused. His first raised slightly and he shook it at Hermione, "No one calls me a loser-"

"Alright, guys," Remus stood up as well and walked over to Sirius. He tugged his friend away from the table. "It's time to get going, before you go overboard with this."

"Moony, don't let 'er get away with this," the boy whispered to his friend as he staggered away.

Remus looked desperately at James, "How sober are you?"

The boy who had previously been looking at his reflection in his cup with an airy look on his face looked up with seriousness. "I'm fine, Moony."

For a moment, the werewolf surveyed his friend with distrust, but eventually, he couldn't find anything wrong with him - or too wrong. "Then walk Hermione back to the shop and get back to Hogwarts. Peter, come help me with Sirius."

Peter stood up and hurried to help.

After they disappeared from the slowly emptying crowd in the pub, James turned to the intoxicated Hermione.

"I think it's time I take you home," he said and stood up, taking Hermione's arm a bit roughly and pulling her along.

"Hey," she protested weakly, her senses being jarred as they walked. "Be a bit more careful, Harry."

"Harry?" he questioned, "Who's Harry?"

Hermione looked closely at the boy who was still dragging her towards the door. Looking more directly at him, she realized that it really wasn't Harry - it was James. She had nearly forgotten about the whole time swap thing. "Oh," she whispered in surprise. "I thought you were someone else."

The look-alike shrugged and continued walking, pushing open the pub door. The cold air that met them was a bit of a soberer for them - or, for Hermione.

She blinked and shuddered a bit, knowing that her muddied mind was going to cause her confusion and possibly a few problems for the night.

"Come on, love," James said, pushing her lightly forward and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Let's get back to your place."

Hermione hardly registered what he said as she stumbled forward with him. She noticed vaguely that he shot small glances at her every now and then with a small smirk on his face.

They were halfway back to the shop when the light completely disappeared from the sky and they were left in the chill darkness. No one was outside in that area besides them, and it was eerily quiet. James didn't mind it too much, but Hermione's senses were jumpy.

"Calm down, Hermione," James purred, his hand sliding down further from her waist. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, his hot breath rushing against her cold skin, "Nothing's going to get you out here."

She shuddered and turned to look at him, but she misjudged how close he was and her lips met his at the same time. His eyes widened in surprise, but before Hermione could get over the hazy fact itself, he began kissing her.

It wasn't just a kiss kiss. It was a drunken, heated kiss that seared her very soul.

And she liked it.

* * *

They tumbled into her room and James shut the door behind him rather hastily. Hermione staggered a bit and nearly fell but thrust her arms out before she could do so, steadily bracing herself against the wall. She giggled at her own intoxicated state, her mind obscured and her body drunk. In the back of her mind, she noted that she didn't like feeling the way she did - it was as if she had no control over her body.

Before she could think further on the subject, she felt arms encircle her from behind, efficiently pinning her against him and the wall. Her lips parted in surprise and she turned around to face him, looking upwards into his own hazel ones, confusion and shock evident in them. She hadn't even known he'd followed her up there.

"What's wrong, babe?" he whispered into her ear as he lent forward ever so slightly, his warm breath whisking across her skin.

She shivered as a sudden, unwanted adrenaline filled her veins. Hermione shook her head, trying to get the feeling out of her drunken blood stream. James interpreted her reaction wrongly, and tried to sooth her with kisses on her neck. The gentle, yet warm lips against her neck caused her to moan lightly. She tried to push him away but her arms refused to move from her sides.

Her moan encouraged him, and his hungered hands hurriedly touched her flushed face, his fingers lightly trailing over her lips.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, but even to her, he sounded just as intoxicated as she felt at that moment.

"James," she protested weakly, the warmth of his body too close for complete comfort. Her mind was hazy from the numerous drinks she knew she shouldn't have drunk, "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Hush," he whispered and captured her lips with his in a deep kiss.

As much as her mind screamed for her to turn away, to get up and leave, her body disobeyed. She found herself kissing him with the same fevered passion, her hands trailing up and down along his chest in indecipherable patterns.

James' hands found their way down her sides and along her stomach. The girl wriggled slightly under the touch, the new sensations bringing her hazed mind far into the world of ludicrously. She bit down on his bottom lip ever so lightly and gasped as his cool hands slipped under her blouse.

"No," she once more protested, but the words came out disfigured, transformed from their original meaning in the husky breath that escaped through her lips.

Lips left hers, and trailed light butterfly kisses along her jaw and to her ear. For a moment, she was lost in the ambiance. "I want you, Hermione." The boy's hands moved higher under her shirt, exploring and touching various places that made her squirm and plead bodily for more. "Do you want me?"

Hermione bit back the groan that threatened to escape from her throat. She knew that what they were doing was wrong, but her drunken body wouldn't allow her to stop. As much as she tried to make herself comprehend the fact that it was all so very wrong, she wanted it - she wanted it so very, very dearly.

His hands moved more firmly against her upper body, cool fingertips against heated skin. She didn't answer him, hoping that she could contain the affirmative answer that tried to escape from her lips. He once more kissed her, more roughly than the previous time. She didn't even think twice before she submitted and feverishly kissed him back, allowing him to thrust his hungry tongue into her mouth to explore. That was pretty much the final straw to all that left her hanging onto reality before she was lost in the exotic entrancement he'd put her in.

Her hands once again traveled down his chest and gripped at the hem of his shirt before breaking away from the kiss. She hesitantly tugged upwards on his shirt, uncertain eyes meeting lust filled ones. James gave her a satisfied smirk before he hurriedly took his shirt off, discarding it onto the floor.

Hermione stared at his tanned chest for a few moments before he attacked her feverishly with another kiss, but it was not on her lips this time. His kisses left the skin on her neck searing pleasantly and her hands found their way into his raven locks, begging for the more intimate touches.

His hands abided and toyed with the buttons on her blouse. She wasn't fully aware of him unbuttoning it, but soon, she found herself being parted from the shirt which he simply tossed onto the floor with his own. The sudden blast of cold air on previously covered skin sent chills up her spine and she felt herself sober ever so slightly.

She looked up into the hungry eyes of James, who was eyeing her upper body. She felt herself hesitate, the voices once more echoing in her mind.

This is wrong, she thought to herself desperately. _I can't do th- _

she thought to herself desperately. 

She didn't finish the thought. Mere seconds later, she found more of her clothing being pulled off her body, more roughly than before. Within a minute, she found herself standing almost completely naked in front of the eyes of the boy. Her bare legs shifted as if ready to run, but her hormones didn't allow her to move.

Hands once more grabbed her in sensitive places and she was firmly pressed against the cold wall behind her. It felt so right, but yet so wrong. His touch, his kiss, his scent... Him.

She let a groan escape her as his head dipped and his lips enclosed on the sensitive part of her breast. She couldn't contain herself anymore - everything was too much. She simply allowed her instincts to take over.

After he lavished the breast, she pushed him away slightly. Hermione returned the kisses he had given her, along his neck, chest, and collar bone. She knew by his drunken smirk that he was enjoying it just as much as she was.

Her hands found themselves moving lower and lower down his body, across his chest and stomach, stopping above the waistband of his jeans. She didn't know whether to move on, or stop.

James wouldn't allow her to deter and instead, he pushed her hands aside and unclasped his pants. Her breath hitched as he undressed in front of her, unafraid of allowing her to see him fully. Her eyes took in his naked form.

She didn't have long to look though. The boy roughly pulled her to him, his erection pressing almost painfully against her stomach. She gasped loudly, for more than one reason. It was all so foreign to her. She didn't know what to do; but obviously, James wasn't going to let that get in the way.

She allowed him to drag her over to her bed, where the sheets were still rumpled from the morning before. He simply pushed her down onto the cold blankets before he positioned himself on top of her between her legs.

Her eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. His eyes were sparkling with the lust and hunger but soon disappeared behind that raven hair of his as he bowed his head to kiss her stomach.

The girl's eyes closed tightly as she jerked from the sudden touch, her lower body simply pressing against his. She heard a muffled groan and the hardness of his erection became more prominent against her.

He moved against her, another muffled groan heard above the rustle of bed sheets. Suddenly, Hermione felt something press gently against her lower down and she knew; her eyes opened in a flash and she found herself staring into the eyes of James for the umpteenth time that night.

He was asking permission to continue with their riotous, intoxicated actions.

And she complied.

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A/N: Kay, so that's the first mature scene I've ever written. Please go easy on me. Is it just me or does this chapter skip around a lot? Ugh... I'm out of it. Well, please tell me what you think. Do I need to improve? It's been a while since I've written, so I think this is a bit out of league on the negative scale with my older writing. But meh.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and or movies is not mine.

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A/N: Ahhh… I'm horrible, aren't I? I'm so very sorry, but life is hectic, and this story was stuck. I'm struggling through it until I can get a good ground again, but with my mind out and away from writing for so long, I'm kind of in the middle of a storm.

If that even makes sense. Anyways. I'm still alive and trying to write, and I haven't abandoned this yet. I hope that no one is too mad at me - I'm trying to keep up! I've even put a few stories on hold (though, I haven't updated them recently either) just so that I know I have time to focus on this story more than those others.

Thanks to all the reviews guys! You guys are the best.

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Hands are Meant to Hold

By: xScenex

Chapter Six

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It was like any other winter day in Hogsmeade. The crisp, morning air was clouded by the dull light that seeped through the curtain of dense clouds above that threatened to dump a weight of sleet or snow onto the small village below. The occupants were beginning to wake, and a light hustle and bustle began through the streets.

Well, that is, until a loud, piercing shriek of disbelief echoed through the air from one of the shops on the further, more dead side of town. Everyone paused in their activities, their heads swiveling to the area where the signal of distress came from. But everyone was too immersed in their own activities to actually go investigate what was happening.

But the truth was, down one street and to the next, all the way up to the dead side of town, there lie a small shop; a bookshop, to be more precise. Inside of it were two occupants no older than twenty years old.

The scream that had been heard throughout the village had indeed resided from the bookshop.

The occupants, a boy and a girl, both stared dumbfounded at one another, both in awkward states of dress.

"Wh… what happened?!" the girl, Hermione Granger, shrieked in complete distress as she held the bed sheets up over her body as she scrambled as far away on the bed from the boy as possible.

The boy, James, just stuttered. "I-I, I don't… I.."

Hermione was horrified. She couldn't recall the previous nights interactions beyond getting to the Three Broomsticks. She didn't even remember going home, let alone falling asleep with James Potter in her bed - especially without her clothes on. The mere thought sent tears of confusion into her eyes.

She wiped the underside of her eyes and gave a frustrated groan as she struggled to speak, "Did we…?"

The boy on the bed beside her looked on with wide eyes, "I… I'm not sure."

But the soreness in Hermione's body told her that her fear was true. The previous night had been much more than just a few drinks and jokes.

It had been more than a few spoken words with new friends. It had been almost exactly what lovers would do.

Tears welled up in her eyes again. "I cant believe it! I'm so stupid… Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

She wiped at her eyes again, her eyes blazing with anger and torment. "I knew that drinking that Fire Whiskey was a bad idea! I don't know why I even stooped so low to drink it!"

Her hysteria was clear, and James was smart enough to not comment that they had all drunk the alcohol and it had usually proved to be harmless for him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. If I had known what would happen…" he trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence, his own voice laced with slight panic.

Hermione sniffled and buried her face in her hands as her anger crumbled and disappeared as she felt the sorrow engulf her. She didn't even want to think about what she'd done - it was too much. She had completely messed with time - no doubt, everything was all ruined. How could she ever explain her situation to the Ministry if they found out? For all she knew, they could be on their way to the bookshop at that moment to arrest her.

Oh, what would Harry and Ron say?

The mere thought of her friends sent her into an involuntary wave of tears. She couldn't believe that she'd actually… actually _slept _with her best friends' dad… although, circumstances were completely changed.

He wasn't a dad yet; but that wasn't the point.

She wasn't sure how long she sat in shock, but she was torn out of her misery when the bed shifted and, blushing furiously, James got up and gathered up his clothes that lay strewn across the floor. Hermione trained her eyes on a spot on the part of blanket draped over her lap. Something stirred inside of her, an emotion of sorts, that she couldn't identify.

James didn't say anything to her as he hopped into the bathroom and slipped on his clothes. Hermione could see his shadow from inside, as the door was only half closed.

She wasn't sure what to do. Her heart felt like it had been torn with the resentment of how she could betray Harry, and of how she allowed herself to do something so stupid. She choked on her own breath. She'd just committed a huge sin, and there was no way to fix what had happened. There was no way to mend the hole she had torn through time and space.

She shook her head, lips trembling slightly. It was all messed up. And with those thoughts, came something else - a little voice that told her it was alright, as long as no one found out. It was the only way to survive through the ordeal.

Seconds later, James came out of the bathroom, paler than she'd ever seen him. His eyes were nervous, darting to her, to the floor, and to his hands.

Hermione looked down again. It was hard to look him in the face - the embarrassment of what they knew had happened… it was too much. He seemed to think the same thing.

"H… Hermione?" he began, his voice cracking slightly. She tried to answer him, but all that came out was a strangled affirmative for him to continue. He nervously cleared his throat.

"I… I'm sorry about this," he told her almost inaudibly, waving his left hand around to the rumpled up sheets and to her clothes that still lay on the floor around the bed. "I really didn't think this would get out of hand."

She nodded slowly and said with a dull voice, "I didn't think so, either."

Hermione couldn't chance a look at him. Something was telling her that if she did, she might see the truth in what she was beginning to feel. Her heart was aching but she firmly told herself that it was from the guilt.

"I think… I think I need to be alone," she nearly gasped out as she tried to breathe at the same time. Hermione hadn't realized that she was close to hyperventilating.

The boy hesitated, before nodding. "I should get back to the school."

Awkward silence followed until he gave up on the quietness and stole out of the room, only his echoing footsteps lingering in his wake as he walked quickly down the staircase.

A door slammed from downstairs, and soon, all the silence pressed down on the girl who sat upstairs in the small bed.

Hermione sniffled and drew her knees up to her chest. She rested her forehead against them, hoping that everything would just disappear and it would all turn out to be just a dream. She wanted nothing more than to wake up, safe in her bed at her parent's house with an owl from Ron or Harry waiting at her window.

But when she opened her eyes, the darkness and coldness of the room proved that it was indeed reality.

Everything was just spinning out of control for her. How could she allow herself to do such a thing? What happened to her smart, collected self? Since when did so many tears fall?

Maybe it was because of Voldemort's absence. Maybe she'd been too easy on herself, and didn't keep the boundaries shut. And because of that mistake, she found herself in a screwed up position.

Shaking her head in complete resentment for her actions, she heaved a sigh. She would just have to wait to see how everything would go from there on.

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The day began to pass, slowly but surely. Hermione was fidgety, and often found herself sniffling as more tears threatened to flow from her frightened and confused eyes. Time and again, she found herself trying to convince her mind that nothing had really happened and it was all just a misunderstanding from the night before.

But deep down inside, she knew better.

It was nearing closing time; the sky outside was dark with heavy clouds that threatened more snow. A skin deep chill had filled the shop, leaving Hermione to huddle up in a coat at her seat as she stared blankly at the windows.

Her mind, though, was not blank. It raced with so many possibilities of what she had just caused to change in the world.

Too many things could happen, she thought to herself. What if she completely ruined James and Lily? Harry had to be born - he had a future to fulfill. And just the thought of Harry not being born made Hermione feel utterly sick and dizzy.

She dully glanced at the clock and saw that she had a few more minutes before the shop closed. She sighed resentfully before standing up and leaving her semi-warm seat so that she could make her way up to the front of the shop to lock it up for the night.

As she passed the bookshelves, she shook her head.

"I have to find a way to fix everything," she whispered to herself, although the words sounded stronger than she felt. Maybe this was how Harry felt when Sirius died…

She shuddered. It was nothing like that. It wasn't like she'd just saw someone close to her die. She didn't have some killer after her very blood.

But she did have fate on her hands.

Hermione found herself resting her back against one of the bookshelves sides with her head tilted upwards; eyes shut in resentment. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she thought of that mere thing.

Fate.

What was happening wasn't _supposed _to happen; but she'd made it take place in a very foreign time.

She pushed off of the bookshelf towards the door. Hermione felt the cold glass of the window touch her hands and opened her eyes, only to gasp in complete shock.

What she saw on the other side of the window were large, amber eyes against the near pitch black of outside. They startled her, having not known someone was there.

The girl stumbled backwards, nearly knocking over the closest bookshelf. Her breath was sharp and her heartbeat was fast.

The person outside turned the doorknob and opened the door, the light creak hardly audible against the sound of the girl's harsh breathing.

"I didn't mean to startle you," came a very familiar, smooth voice.

Hermione stared up at the young face of Remus. His hair was windswept and his cheeks flushed pink from the cold. He lent over and offered a hand to her.

"What are you doing here so late?" Hermione questioned through her quick breathing. She took his outstretched hand and was pulled gently to her feet.

The boy looked around slowly, a look in his eyes. He wasn't eager to share whatever he had to say and took his time, she noticed. But after a few moments, Remus looked at her with a slightly apologetic look.

She didn't like it.

"Hermione, I know it's late and all, but James asked me to come here to tell you something."

"Tell me something? Why couldn't he come and tell me?" Hermione questioned. She could feel a small stab etch itself into her heart. Did he really think it more important to send a friend to tell her something after all that had just happened?

"I don't think he would have been able to tell you," the boy said truthfully. "He was in a right state when he came back to the castle this morning."

Hermione noted that his voice was slightly accusing. "What are you saying? That I caused something?"

He shook his head quickly and got to the point, "All I'm saying is that James is sorry for anything he's done to you. He didn't mean for everything to happen the way it did, and he thinks that it will be better if the two of you didn't… see each other again."

She was taken aback by how blunt he was - in a gentle, yet completely in command way. "He doesn't want to see me again?"

Her voice sounded hollow, even to herself.

Remus fidgeted. "I don't think he meant to offend you. He thinks that it's better that he didn't get involved in someone until after he graduates from school."

"I see," was all she could say.

He didn't want her - that was good, she told herself. However, at the same time, she felt as if someone had just ripped her skin off, leaving her naked to the world as nothing more than a thing.

Nevertheless, it was better that way. He would find himself involved with Lily near the end of school, and they would get married. Harry would be born.

At the thought, Hermione smiled slightly against the pain of rejection.

"I'm glad he's set his mind to more important things," she said, finding her voice stronger than before. It was different when she looked at the positive things, she realized.

The werewolf breathed a sigh of relief before he gave her a small smile of his own. "I'm glad you understand - he'll be glad as well. I guess I'll be going."

Hermione nodded slowly. She didn't want him getting into any trouble.

"Take care of yourself," were his only words before he left quickly, his cloak disappearing behind the door as it swung shut after him.

Hermione locked the door soon after and pulled the stings to let the blinds fall over the windows, blocking out the empty space.

The girl sighed heavily and once against closed her eyes. Her heart ached in a way that she'd never felt before. Was it the feeling of rejection? Or was it just the feeling from such a hard day?

"No," she whispered aloud. "It's heartbreak."

She knew then, that her silly thoughts hadn't just been imagined. She had fallen for James Potter; hard.

And she needed a way out.

Pulling out her wand in a determined way, she headed upstairs to do the only thing she knew how to do - pack. She had quickly decided that she would leave him behind before something more drastic happened.

It wasn't just a simple game of hide and seek with fate anymore. It was now a game of cat and mouse with someone who belonged to another. She wasn't about to risk it all.

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A/N: You know… I just realized that I've been a member here for a little over a year. Weird, how time seems to just go right over your head. Awh well.

You can flame me if you want, 'cause this isn't the best of chapters. I know it isn't, so yeah. I just needed to find a start on this and get an update out before someone murders me.

;; Min


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